The invention relates generally to vehicle seating, and more specifically, to an easy entry mechanism configured to facilitate ingress and egress of vehicle passengers.
Vehicle seating typically includes a seat bottom and a seat back to support a driver or passenger. In certain seating configurations, both the seat bottom and seat back include a rigid chassis, cushions, and a fabric covering. The cushions are coupled to the rigid chassis, and the fabric covering is disposed about the assembly. The rigid chassis of the seat bottom serves to support the weight (i.e., vertical load) of the passenger, and couples the seat to a floor of the vehicle. In certain configurations, the seat bottom chassis is coupled to a carriage configured to facilitate longitudinal movement of the vehicle seating along a track. In addition, the seat back chassis may be configured to pivot relative to the seat bottom chassis to enable a passenger to adjust the seat back to a desired position.
Certain vehicle seating systems include an easy entry mechanism configured to facilitate ingress and egress of vehicle passengers. For example, if a vehicle includes three rows of seating, access to the third row may be partially blocked by a seat within the second row. Consequently, each seat within the second row may include an easy entry mechanism configured to move the second row seat, thereby providing a larger path to the third row. Upon activation, the easy entry mechanism may unlock the carriage from the track, thereby enabling the seat to slide forward. In addition, activation of the easy entry mechanism may induce the seat back to tilt forward. With the seat back tilted forward and the seat translated to a forward position, a passenger may have enhanced access to the third row of seating. Unfortunately, if a child safety seat is present within the second row seat, rotation of the seat back may be blocked, thereby significantly reducing the effectiveness of the easy entry mechanism and decreasing access to the third TOW.